Gokhale was earlier the economic relations secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Monday named 1981 batch Indian Foreign Service officer Vijay Keshav Gokhale the new foreign secretary. Gokhale will replace S Jaishankar, whose term ends on January 28.

The IFS officer was earlier the economic relations secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. He has also held the post of India’s ambassador to China during the term of the Narendra Modi government. Before that, he served as India’s envoy to Germany and Hong Kong, IANS reported.

Gokhale was also the Director (China and East Asia) and Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs.

Jaishankar was appointed the foreign secretary on January 29, 2015, for a two-year period. He was then given a one-year extension in January 2017.